Shutterbug, a member of the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), once again joined forces with 30 other member magazines from around the world to choose the winners of the annual TIPA Awards for the best photo/imaging products in 40 different categories. The award process began in early 2017 with an initial selection of a wide range of products conducted by TIPA’s Technical Committee, on which Shutterbug’s Editor-at-Large George Schaub serves.

Another year has come and gone, which means it’s time for Shutterbug to once again pick our favorite cameras and lenses of the past 12 months. With so much great photo gear to choose from in 2017, it was a difficult task. The below list though is a good summation of the cameras and lenses Shutterbug’s editors and writers most enjoyed shooting with last year.

Norwegian Daniel Tengs sets himself apart from other extreme sports photographers in at least one key respect: he goes the extra mile, capturing snowboarders on medium format, namely the Fujifilm GFX 50S. Not exclusively, mind you, but with a certain flair so we can say his photo shoots with this format create a near mind-bending experience for the viewer.

While it might seem unusual that a camera can be both mirrorless and have a medium format size sensor, that’s exactly what Fujifilm has created with their new GFX 50S. The 51.4MP CMOS sensor size is 43.8x32.9mm, 1.7x the size of the sensor in a full-frame DSLR; the body is decidedly mirrorless, lacking a pentaprism finder and replacing it with an EVF and a tiltable rear LCD.

The new Hasselblad X1D is a very compact medium format system, thanks in part to its use of an electronic viewfinder system rather than the usual mirror box design. Based on the same sensor as the Hasselblad H5/6D-50c, the camera has a 43.8x32.9mm CMOS sensor with 50MP resolution (8272x6200 pixels).

Fujifilm created quite a buzz in Cologne, Germany at the recent Photokina exposition with the introduction of the distinctive GFX 50S medium format camera, boasting a compact mirrorless design, 51.4MP resolution and attractive retro styling. In the videos below, four top pros discuss what all the fanfare is about.

Arguably, the biggest camera news at this year’s photokina show in Cologne, Germany was the announcement of the new Fujifilm GFX, a medium format mirrorless camera, which was unveiled to much fanfare on Monday. Shutterbug was one of a handful of media outlets to get our hands on a prototype of the 51.4-megapixel GFX and try it out for about half an hour in a conference room at the show.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring 2016 in San Francisco, California.

When people asked legendary editor Herbert Keppler why he sometimes wrote about cameras costing more than the average photographer could afford, he told me it was because of the Maserati factor. “Most people,” he said, “can’t afford a Maserati but like reading about them.” And I get that. My personal dream car is a 1961 Maserati 3500 GT, which sells for north of $450,000. Fortunately, medium format cameras, while expensive, cost less than that.

The Phase One XF 100MP is a medium format camera with extremely high sensor resolution. It is a modular concept comprised of the Phase One XF camera body, which was introduced in the summer of 2015, and the brand-new IQ3 100MP digital back. The body has a 90-degree prism viewfinder and includes a Schneider-Kreuznach 80mm LS f/2.8 lens. As expected, this does not come cheap: the total price for this kit is $48,990 USD, as of this writing, and is the most expensive camera system we’ve ever tested.

Hasselblad showed off its new H6D medium format camera at an exclusive media event in New York City today and Shutterbug was on hand to test out this hotly anticipated system. The H6D camera, which was officially announced last week, comes in two versions: the H6D-100c with a 100-megapixel CMOS sensor, and the H6D-50c with a 50MP CMOS sensor.

Since this is my first foray into camera reviews, I’ll start with a little background info. I am an automotive photographer on staff at two of Shutterbug’s sister publications, Motor Trend and Automobile. Prior to Motor Trend I managed Silvio’s Photoworks in SoCal, and before that I was a manager at the equipment and studio checkout at Brooks Institute of Photography, where I got my BFA. I have used everything from 4x5s to my iPhone, old or new, film or digital. And ever since my dad first handed me his Pentax K1000 in fifth grade, my lens has been aimed at cars.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Ricoh Imaging’s Pentax 645Z is a “medium format” digital camera with a 43.8x32.8mm CMOS sensor, 1.66 times the size of a standard full-frame sensor. The sensor features a very high resolution of 51.4MP (8265x6192 pixels) and can record in JPEG and in Pentax’s own Raw (PEF) or Adobe DNG format.